Batch Process in DevonThink 4 does not execute AppleScript — no file writing occurs

DEVONthink Automation
1

Hello everyone,

I am encountering an issue with running a simple AppleScript within a Batch Process in DT4. The script is intended to append text lines to a local file in my ~/Documents folder, but after running the Batch Process, the file is not created and no data is written.

Here are the details of what I tried so far:

  • I wrote a minimal AppleScript to append text to a file, for example:
on run {input, parameters}
    set logFilePath to POSIX path of (path to home folder) & "Documents/faktury_log.txt"
    do shell script "echo 'Test from Batch Process' >> " & quoted form of logFilePath
    return input
end run
  • I used Batch Process with manual input (Input Text) and with output from ChatGPT API feeding the script.
  • In macOS System Preferences → Privacy → Automation, DEVONthink has permissions to control Finder and Terminal.
  • The file does not exist before running Batch Process and is still not created afterward.
  • The script does not create or write to files even when no input is passed — just a fixed text line.
  • I verified the file path and directory exist, and permissions on ~/Documents allow writing.

My goal is to append CSV lines extracted from documents into a local file or a DEVONthink record using Batch Process, but currently the AppleScript is either not executed or cannot write to disk.

Thank you for any advice!

My Apple Script

on run {input, parameters}
    -- Ścieżka do pliku CSV
    set csvFilePath to POSIX path of (path to home folder) & "Documents/faktury/faktury.csv"
    
    -- Przygotuj tekst do dopisania: jeśli input to lista linii, połącz je nową linią
    if (class of input) is list then
        set csvText to ""
        repeat with aLine in input
            set csvText to csvText & aLine & linefeed
        end repeat
    else
        set csvText to input & linefeed
    end if
    
    -- Dopisz tekst do pliku CSV (>> dopisuje, nie nadpisuje)
    do shell script "echo " & quoted form of csvText & " >> " & quoted form of csvFilePath
    
    return input
end run

CleanShot 2025-08-08 at 17.35.55@2x
CleanShot 2025-08-08 at 17.35.55@2x1920×1423 152 KB

2

As a matter of habit, things like logfilepath should be a string before quoting it. So should csvFilePath.

Also, you are using the wrong handler. It is not an on run handler. You should be using a perform smart rule(theRecords) handler as noted in the Automation > Smart Item Scripts section of the built-in Help and manual.

1 Like
3 
on run {input, parameters}
    set logFilePath to POSIX path of (path to home folder) & "Documents/faktury_log.txt"
    set csvFilePath to POSIX path of (path to home folder) & "Documents/faktury/faktury.csv"
    
    -- Convert paths explicitly to strings
    set logFilePathStr to logFilePath as string
    set csvFilePathStr to csvFilePath as string
    
    -- Log input for debugging
    do shell script "echo " & quoted form of (input as string) & " >> " & quoted form of logFilePathStr
    
    -- Prepare CSV text
    if (class of input) is list then
        set csvText to ""
        repeat with aLine in input
            set csvText to csvText & aLine & linefeed
        end repeat
    else
        set csvText to input & linefeed
    end if
    
    -- Append CSV text to file
    do shell script "echo " & quoted form of csvText & " >> " & quoted form of csvFilePathStr
    
    return input
end run

but it does’t work :slight_smile:

4

See my second paragraph.

And in this case, you’d want to use Script with Input/Output not Apply Script.

And here is a stripped down version of your script that works…

on scriptOutput(theRecord, theInput)
	
	set logFilePath to (POSIX path of (path to home folder) & "Documents/Documents Indexed/log.txt") as string
	
	if (class of theInput) is list then
		set csvText to ""
		repeat with aLine in theInput
			set csvText to csvText & aLine & linefeed
		end repeat
	else
		set csvText to theInput & linefeed
	end if
	
	-- Append text to file
	do shell script "echo " & quoted form of csvText & " >> " & quoted form of logFilePath
end scriptOutput
2 Likes
5

Forgive me, but what would logfilepath be if not a string?

set logFilePath to (POSIX path of (path to home folder))
log class of logFilePath

prints “*text*”. Which to me seems to indicate that logFilePath is a string. Concatenating it with another string like in the script posting here shouldn’t change that.

I see this kind of coercion (or casts) frequently in AppleScript code. And often I don’t understand the reason for them – is that just a habit, or would the code really break if it were missing?

6

path to home folder doesn’t return an HFS/APFS/POSIX path. It returns an alias, not a string.

(path to home folder as string) makes it explicit, so adding as string to the end of a concatenated path like the one shown covers the case in which someone forgot (or didn’t know) the value is an alias.

2 Likes
7

The input is always a string defined via the Set Script Input action.

8

That’s from the user’s code :slight_smile:
Incidentally, I thought you had mentioned the input could be a string or a list. Maybe the output can be a string, a list, or a record?

9

No, the input has been always a string.

A string is recommended. Or anything else (e.g. a number) that could be converted to a string as that’s what the Script Output placeholder uses in the end.

10

I’ll clarify the Script Output is always a string in the documentation.

11

ok, I’ve got it: „script with Input/Output” !! Thanks a lot :folded_hands:

1 Like